Method for treating fabrics

ABSTRACT

A METHOD OF ENHANCING THE BODY OF A FABRIC, PARTICULARLY AFTER LAUNDERING, WITHOUT INCREASING ITS STIFFNESS, BY DEPOSITING ON THE FABRIC UP TO 3% OF ITS WEIGHT A COPOLYMER OF ETHYLENE AND VINYL ACETATE, OF BUTYLACRYLATE AND ACRYLAMIDE, OR O FPOLYBUTYL ACRYLATES CONTAINING ACRYLIC ACID RESIDUES. DEPOSITION IS FROM A WATER DISPERSION.

3,567,498 METHOD FOR TREATING FABRICS John W. Rafferty, Marblehead, and Derek E. Till, Concord, Mass., assignors to Arthur D. Little Inc., Cambridge, Mass. No Drawing. Filed July 7, 1966, Ser. No. 563,399 Int. Cl. D06m 15/16 U.S. Cl. 117-1395 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of enhancing the body of a fabric, particularly after laundering, without increasing its stiffness, by depositing on the fabric up to 3% of its weight a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate, of butylacrylate and acrylamide, or of polybutyl acrylates containing acrylic acid residues. Deposition is from a water dispersion.

This invention relates to a method for treating fabrics to impart to them a like-new feel subsequent to wearing and laundering and to a liquid-treating agent therefor. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and composition for treating fabrics other than cotton or fabrics containing fibers blended with cotton. The purpose of the treating can be generally defined as one which gives them body without stiffness.

Fabrics, and more particularly those formed of fibers other than cotton or those formed of other fibers blended with cotton, tend to grow limp and lose their new feel and appearance with wear and repeated washing. Such fabrics in their newly manufactured condition possess highly desirable properties, such as body and freshness and it is desirable to retain these properties over the period of their use. However, during use, such fabrics tend to become abraded, they lose their surface characteristics, and often lose their original size and the benefits derived therefrom. The problem of restoring newness and body is solved in the case of cotton fabrics by the use of starch which is very effective on cotton since the starch molecule is closely related to the natural cellulose molecule and blends with it. However, starch is not effective on fabrics formed of non-cotton fibers since it stilfens and detracts from the new qualities of such materials. Attempts have been made to apply so-called permanent starches to materials other than cotton. These permanent starches have included polyvinyl alcohol, water-soluble derivatives of cellulose such as carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose and certain cellulosic ethers, as well as similar derivatives of starch and gums. None of these treatments has been entirely satisfactory since they imparted too much stiffness to the fabrics.

It would therefore be desirable to have available a method and composition for treating fabrics formed of fibers other than cottons to impart to such fabrics a good band, a new feeling and appearance and body without introducing undesirable stiffness.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a method for treating fabrics formed of fibers or containing fibers other than cotton to impart to the fabrics newness, body, and surface characteristics without appreciably stiffening the fabrics. It is another object of this invention to provide a method of the character described which is easily applied by spraying, dipping or introducing into the rinse cycle of the laundering process.

. United States Patent ice It is another primary object of this invention to provide a liquid treating composition which, when used on fabrics formed of or containing fibers other than cotton, is capable of retaining the new-like characteristics associated with the fabrics at the time of their manufacture. Other objects of the invention will in part by obvious and will in part be apparent hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others and the composition of matter possessing the chracteristics, properties, and relation of constituents which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure; and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

According to this invention, it has been found that treating fabrics formed of or containing fibers other than cotton may be accomplished by depositing on the fabrics a small quantity of a colorless, thermoplastic resin which may be a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate, 9. copolym'er of butylacrylate and acrylamide, or a polybutyl acrylate containing acrylic acid residues. As used hereinafter the term coplymer refers to materials in which the polymeric backbone is formed by the random addition of the different species present in the monomer mixture. These resins, in the form of water dispersions, may be applied in the rinse cycle of laundering or they may be applied prior to or after drying. The treatment may be followed by ironing. The liquid treating composition may also contain ironing lubricants, wetting agents, plasticizers and any other desirable additives such as preservatives and perfumes.

The composition and method of this invention will be further described with relation to the following examples which are meant to be illustrative and not limiting.

EXAMPLE 1 The resin used was a commercially available copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate sold by Du Pont under the tradename of Elvax, the ethylene being present in a range between and percent by weight. It was used in the form of a 52 percent solids-by-weight water dispersion. The liquid treating composition was formed by mixing 6.25 grams of the water dispersion of the resin with 200 grams water and 0.8 gram of a commercially available polydimethyl siloxane as an ironing lubricant. To this was added 0.02 gram of a nonionic surfactant which was isooctyl phenyl polyethoxy ethanol. This composition was suitable for application from a plunger bottle spray device. It contained 1.55 percent of the resin by weight, 0.13 percent of the lubricant and 0.01 percent of the surfactant.

This composition was applied by spraying lightly on a number of different fabric samples including linen, cotton, resin-treated wash-and-wear cotton, polyester-cotton blends, high wet-strength rayon-cotton blends, rayoncotton blends, cellulose triacetate-rayon blends, rayon acetate, acrylic fiber-containing fabrics, silk-cotton blends and nylon (polyamide) chiffon. The application was made after laundering and subsequent to drying but before ironing. The pickup on the fabric ranged between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent by weight. After ironing, the textile samples exhibited desirable body, little if any increase in stiffness, good to excellent pliability and a generally smooth finish. The application to the all-cotton samples was not harmful but did not produce any results which were appreciably better than the usual starch treatment. However, the other textiles which were treated exhibited a new-like quality which was retained after repeated launderings and treatments.

A number of other compositions were made up suitable for plunger bottle spray application, the compositions of which are tabulated below.

which meet this requirement and which are satisfactory as lubricants are commercially available in the form of oil-in-water emulsions as well as pure liquids. Either of these may be used as constituents in the treating liquid. Generally, it will be preferable to use the oil-in-water emulsion in making a liquid designed for dip treating or dispensing from a plunger-type bottle, and the pure mate- Wt. Wt. percent percent polydi- Wt. Ex. resin in methyl Other percent No. Resin used water siloxane additive of add.

2 Copolymer of ethylene and vinyl 3.1 0.25

acetate, 70-76/3025. 3 copolymer of ethylene and vinyl 1 0.25

acetate, 7075/3025. 4 Copolymer of ethylene and vinyl 1.5 0.03 Carbowax 0.1-0. 75

acetate, 70-75/30-25. 6000. 5 Copolymer of butylacrylate and 3.0 2.0

aerylarm'de. 6 Polybutylaerylate containing acrylic 1.6 0.4

acid residues. 7 Copolymer of ethylene and vinyl 5 Lecithin 0.1

acetate, 70-75/30-25.

In Example 4, the Carbowax, which is a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of about 6,000, was used partially as a lubricant and partially as a component which would satbilize the liquid composition through a number of freeze-thaw cycles. In Example 7 the lecithin served as the ironing lubricant. Inasmuch as the commercially available copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate contained a surfactant, it was not necessary in some cases to add more of this component.

The compositions of Examples 1-7 are also suitable for incorporation in an aerosol dispenser containing one of the well-known fluid propellants, such as a fiuoronated hydrocarbon or low-boiling hydrocarbons, e.g., isobutane. The treating composition in concentrated form (e.g., about 50 percent solids) may be added to the rinse cycle of a washing machine or may be added to an appropriate amount of water to make a liquid suitable for dipping the fabric therein. This means that the liquid treating composition may be handled either in its diluted form or in a concentrated form, the important aspect of its use being the quantity actually deposited upon and taken up by the fabric. This may vary from fabric to fabric and from composition to composition and can be readily determined.

Whether or not the liquid treating composition is made up in the form of a concentrated or diluted dispersion, it should be applied to the fabric from a water dispersion in which the resin is present in a range from about 0.5 to 5 percent solids by weight with a preferred range being from about 0.5 to 3 percent. The optimum range will depend upon the fabric, the method by which the liquid is applied, and the finish desired on the treated fabric. For example, if the application is to be to a cotton-Dacron (polyester) blend by dipping, a 2 percent by weight dispersion of the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate has been found to be satisfactory. Although subsequent launderings after treatment remove a portion of the resin, it apparently does not remove all of it so that the effect is to build up a small amount of resin in the fabric. However, the buildup is very slight; and the treatment may be used after each laundering. It may, however, be used only periodically. Normally, the amount of resin present in a treated fabric should not be above about 3% by fabric weight while a preferred minimum is from 0.5 to 1% by weight.

The lubricant incorporated into the treating liquid is one which lubricates a hot iron, i.e., makes it slip readily over the surface being ironed. It should not, of course, be one which adheres or builds up on the iron surface. Several ironing lubricants are known, and among these the preferred one is a polydimethyl siloxane which has a molecular weight sufiicient to give the liquid a viscosity of at least 500 centistokes at 25 C. Polydimethyl siloxanes rial in making a liquid composition which is to be dispensed from a spray can. Other lubricants which may be used include, but are not limited to, the so-called Carbowaxes which are polyethylene glycols. These should have molecular weights of at least 5000. In like manner, lecithin and the high-melting Waxes may be used; however, these are not as readily dispersed in the treating liquid as is the polydimethyl siloxane. The quantity of lubricant incorporated in the treating liquid will be primarily determined by the amount of lubrication which is desired. Normally, this quantity will range from as little as .01 percent by weight of liquid to an amount equivalent to or even greater than the amount of resin incorporated.

The primary purpose of a surfactant or wetting agent is to insure smooth and uniform application of the liquid immediately upon its contact with the fabric being treated. It is therefore normally desirable to choose a wetting agent which matches its performance with the fabric to be treated. Preferably, such a wetting agent will be nonionic; and many of these are commercially available. Of these, the substituted polyoxyethylene ethanols are preferred because they do not upset the resin dispersion and they are effective on a wide range of different synthetic fibers and synthetic-cotton blends.

In addition, other constituents may be added; and these include, but are not limited to, plasticizers, foam depressants, preservatives, perfumes, and corrosion inhibitors.

Extensive tests using the treating composition and method of this invention have shown that it is possible to treat fabrics other than cotton or fabrics containing fibers other than cotton to protect their new-like finish, make them longer wearing, and give them a desirable degree of body without stiffness. The treatment may also, of course, be applied to cottons.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained; and since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in the composition set forth, without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A method of enhancing the body of a fabric without increasing its stiffness characterized by depositing thereon, from a water dispersion, up to 3% by Weight of 70 said fabric of an ironing lubricant and up to 3% by weight of a resin selected from the group consisting of copolymers of ethylene and vinyl acetate, copolymers of butylacrylate and acrylamide and polybutyl acrylates containing acrylic acid residues, said water dispersion containing up to 5% solid resins by weight.

5 6 2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said 2,734,830 2/1956 Hagge et a1 11747 lubricant is polydimethyl siloxane. 2,872,356 2/ 1959 Bull et a1 117-139.5 3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said 2,950,553 9 HurWitz 117-139.4X lubricant is polyethylene glycol 4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said 5 3,345,318 10/1967 Lfndemann fit lubricant is lecithim 3,347,811 10/1967 Blssot 117-161X References Cited WILLIAM D. MARTIN, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS T. G. DAVIS, Assistant Examiner 2,859,135 11/1958 Rossin 117 139.5 CL

2,874,069 2/1959 Gagarine et a1 117--139.5

3 0 4 070 4 19 3 Teot 117 139 5 117-452, 66, 

